The Stars In Your Eyes
by Uskius
Summary: Vegeta thinks he's going back to base... but after dialing in the wrong number on his attack ball remote, he instead gets sent to our Earth, where he meets Helen Keller... Featuring Harry Dresden. Rating for brief language and sensuality. xD lol
1. Chapter 1

****Author's Note**** Don't give up hope, there is a God.

Well, here you are. The fact this fic exists at all automatically undermines any argument in my defense, so I'll just say a few things. I was not doing this just to be a troll, although there are... moments. Part of the reason I'm wrote this was to challenge myself as an author. The other reason was, I will admit, for fun, and to have fun with a story like this, well... :/ It almost scared me when I started seeing how it would work, but I also realized I was primarily thinking about what I'd be doing with _her,_ and not about what I could be doing with _him._ So, you can pretty much kiss canon goodbye, then smack it on its rear and watch it run away. Yet, at the same time, I wanted to explore how these two very different souls would interact with each other, not _immediately_ discarding their established characterization.

It became clear that for this fic to be the way I wanted it to, I would have to blaze a trail through a whole new world of possibilities. And when you do that with crossover fanfiction, things can go so wrong so fast you won't be able to control the disaster. There already is proof enough of that. I will make no claims at whether I succeeded at damage control or not, merely that I tried my best. (Until the... ahem)

Now, one last sentence that probably is too little too late: The idea for this fanfic was generated by the Terrible Crossover Fanfiction Idea Generator. I decided I would (mostly)ignore the ancient prophecy part, as that would be too much for even me to attempt. *sigh* Keep sharp and/or pointy objects away from your face.

And if you have any kind of respect for Mr. Sabat, do not even think of asking him to read one of Vegeta's lines from here.

**The Stars In Your Eyes: Chapter One**

Death. Though he would never admit it to anyone, deep down inside Vegeta was scared of dying. It had never caught up to him but here it was closer than ever before, nipping at his heels and sinking its teeth into his flesh. _Damn... low level clown. Who does he think he is, sparing me like this? _

The door of the attack ball now closing, Vegeta fumbled with the remote. His body weak, and his vision blurry, the Saiyan prince's eyes closed for a moment while punching in the number that would send the ball back to base; and in that moment his finger slipped off one button and onto another. That single missed digit was all it took. Now, instead of returning to the Planet Trade Orginization's base, Vegeta would be spirited away to a place that no Saiyan had ever gone before: a planet that, like nearly every other planet, its inhabitants simply called _Earth_.

**Home of John Macy**

Helen had always loved the stars. They must have been beautiful, to have inspired so many of the poems she'd read as a child. Their color, arrangement in the heavens, and light; what it must have been like to sleep under them. So, Helen imagined herself being lifted up into space, which wrapped around her like a dark velvety blanket. She floated freely, until she felt a source of heat approaching, drifting into her open hand and settling there. It was very hot but did not burn her, its heat instead flickering about on her palm like a butterfly. _Twinkling? Yes..._ Dancing around with the star in her imagination for a moment longer, Helen smiled as the star flew up and away, circling around before zipping off to join its kin. _Hmm?_

There was another, fainter, heat that Helen sensed approaching, bringing with it a slight rattle to the window which her hand was pressed against. The increasing tremor brought her out of her reverie- something indeed _was_ coming! All of a sudden there was a deep rushing and shaking feel to the air and a tremendous impact that shook the ground, taking Helen off her feet. She meant to feel her way towards Annie and John's room but coming into the hall there was a cool night time breeze blowing in from the front door, and her curiosity got the better of her and she ventured to the front of the house. Close to where she knew the door to be her foot brushed up against what must have been a clod of dirt, for there was a strong smell of freshly turned earth in the air. Cautiously, she took a step, and then a few more until the grass of the lawn was beneath her. There was now heat radiating from nearby, and-

-a hand grasped at the hem of her gown. Helen knelt to take it, and she gasped at its crushing, desperate power. Her free hand strayed along the arm to the man's- Helen could tell it was a man now, by their scent and grip strength- neck, finding his moving mouth. His voice was weak, and by feeling the vibrations in his throat and lip movements, Helen could make out a few words he was repeating. "...rejuvenation chamber... now..."

Turning back to the house, Helen did her best to call, "Annie! John! Come fast!"

~oOo~

Later that same night, Annie Sullivan and John Macy stood watching over Vegeta in the guest room. They watched the slow rise and fall of his hastily bandaged torso in the soft lamp light. "How do you suppose he traveled here?" Annie asked.

"Certainly wasn't by a boat or bicycle," John dryly noted. "What worries me is that vest of his. Light and flexible yet nearly hard as a rock..."

"...and almost shot through." Annie finished, glancing from John to the damaged vest resting in a chair next to the nightstand. "He must be a warrior of some kind, then."

John nods his concurrence, and for a moment the lamp light takes on an ominous edge as it reflects off his glasses. "You don't get roughed up like that if you're a newsie." A couple minutes longer they look over Vegeta, silently pondering what manner of person they had saved.

"And who might be coming after him...?" Annie whispered, before turning to her husband and putting an arm around his waist. "John, it's late..." John nodded once more and then turned to leave the room with Annie.

**The Next Morning**

Vegeta woke at the sound of a knock on the door. He found himself under the covers of a bed in a small room. The latter seemed cozy, the former not so much. The door opened and two women walked in, one leading the other in as they carried a tray with food. The food-carrier set the tray down, and began to speak but Vegeta opened his mouth first: "Who are you, where am I, and what the fuck do you want?"

Annie flinched a little, and replied. "My name is Annie Sullivan and by my side is Helen Keller, you are in the home of John Macy- who is my husband- and I was about to serve you breakfast. May I ask what you name is, sir?"

"I am Vegeta, Prince of All Saiyans, and elite soldier curr- _formerly_ under the service of the magnificent douchebag Frieza." Vegeta saw Annie signing his reply to Helen, wondering what she was doing.

"Helen says hello, and bids you good morning-"

"Yeah, fine. Weren't you going to serve me breakfast?"

"Yes, and she also was going to mention that she feels honored to be in the presence of a prince, thought I cannot quite say the same for myself."

_"How is he?" _Vegeta signed to Annie.

_"Well enough to swear like a sailor," _"Okay, what are you two doing with your hands? And what language is this anyways?"

"It's called English, _sir._ And Helen says-" 

"She says _this_, she says _that_, but she isn't actually _saying_ anything! What's _wrong_ with her?"

There was a deadly silence, then Annie shot back: "_Nothing_ is wrong with her! And I think I'll let you serve yourself breakfast." SHe took Helen's forearm and made to leave, but Helen resisted. Annie sighed and released her grip and then left the room. Cautiously Helen felt her way towards Vegeta's bedside, and sat down at his hip. "Forgive her..." She said in her slow voice. "Annie has a temper."

"Wha- so you can suddenly talk now? Why didn't you say anything earlier?" _Is she hearing me? And what did the fat one say the language was? Ah-_ "Hello, English? English, motherfucker: do you speak it?"

Confident she had given Vegeta enough time to reply, Helen said, "I listen, like this." Demonstrating with one hand, Helen placed her finger on her lips and throat, and her other hand crept up to Vegeta's throat, trickling over his bandaged torso and chest, fingertips gently settling on his lips.

"Well if that's how you listen, listen up: from now on you will only touch me to change my bandages. Understood?" Helen nodded. "And... could you..." Vegeta sighed angrily. "Could you hand me the tray, it's on the bedside table."

_He didn't say please, but I haven't felt him move one bit since I sat down. Perhaps he's not able._ Sensing her path to the table, she found it close by. She balanced it in her hands and turned back towards Vegeta. _Two steps?_ Before long, she felt the tray being pulled from her hands, and she let her arms fall to her sides. She stood in silence for a minute, and then smiled and turned to go.

~oOo~

Annie had volunteered. John was working in the study when she came up after breakfast, and was in one of his working moods. When the issue of Vegeta's arrival was brought up again, his replies were short and businesslike. The brief talk had almost turned into an argument, and had begun to sour her mood to boot.

A brief look in revealed Helen was at her writing desk, fingers hovering over her typewriter; the halls were silent as her pupil while the morning sun streamed in through the windows. And then, Annie opened the front door: before her on the lawn was a strange form, oddly reminding her of an open baseball with a porthole on one part. Picking up her skirts she walked over the edge of the crater to the attack ball. Her sensible shoes made prints in the earth, and the craft reflected the day's early rays. The metal was cool. Leaning in, the sleek and economical interior presented itself: the fitted cushions of the seat, the dials and buttons of the small command console, and a palm-sized rectangle with more buttons. Annie picked it up and continued her slow walk around, taking in the cosmetic damage the attack ball had sustained. Now back where she had first leand in, Annie decided to press a button on the remote. Fortunately, after a quick hiss of hydraulics the ball closed, and there was no more motion. But even that had startled and fascinated Annie, and she decided that if it could leave a crater it would be best to discuss it with John and- and Vegeta.

Well, John was still busy and couldn't be bothered to come, so she pulled Helen along. _She stayed behind to talk... maybe he'll relax and open up with her there-_

"You pushed _what?_" Vegeta screamed.

"-As I was about to explain, the door closed and I thought it was best to leave it at that for the moment."

Vegeta heaved a sigh and finished bringing the spoonful of oatmeal to his mouth, and swallowed it. _Basic, but edible. At least this backwards place has eating utensils._ "Well at least you proved the remote and my attack ball are still functional, so I'll let this one go. But so help me, if you press one more button on the remote, I'll-" Vegeta stopped, his threat cut short by a beep.

Annie had handed the remote to Helen so she could take Vegeta's tray, as that last spoonful had finished his meal. And then the three heard a deep rumbling that receded into the distance. _Annie hasn't signed to me for several moments, but she hasn't walked away..._

_ What did she say her name was?_ "...Annie? Could you look out the window and tell me what you see?" Vegeta closed his eyes, dreading the answer he was certain he'd receive. Forget anger. This was on a level beyond that.

"I see a well kept lawn, and... an empty crater." Sighing with the fury of a thousand Saiyans, Vegeta quietly muttered a string of all the curses he knew. In the meantime, Annie used this opportunity to relay the situation to Helen. The younger woman's expression fell, and she carefully offered the remote to Annie.

_"I couldn't have known what pressing that would do, Annie! What _is_ there to say?"_ Annie shook her head and cleared her throat. "Are you done yet?"

"-ina, with a- hm, what? Done? Sure, why not! This... this literally cannot be happening. Ending up on this primitive planet, after losing to that low-level clown Kakkarot... and then- and then my _attack ball_ being- you'd have to be _blind_ not to see the button _clearly_ marked-" Vegeta caught Annie's glare, and then began to put the pieces together. "So that's it? She's blind? On planet Vegeta if a child's born with a defect they're either castrated or have their good organs harvested. Sometimes both."

Annie is reeling from the revelation, but only for a moment. "Helen is the one who found you after you landed."

"So she _isn't_ blind? What is going _on_ here?"

Annie massaged her temples. Helen has been blind for almost her whole life, and deaf for all of it. As you can see, she feels around to move, and feels vibrations to get a sense of where things are. She is just as intelligent as anyone, but expresses herself differently. She has overcome much."

"Can she breathe in space? Can she fly? What would she do if you dropped her off on the other side of the continent?"

"I would bring her back!"

"Well there's no going back now! That option's gone! I'm s- stuck here in this house; no rejuvenation chamber, battle armor destroyed..." There was another heavy silence in the room.

"We don't have 'rejuvenation chambers' here, but we do have hospitals-"

"If these bandages are the best medicine this world has, I'll just stay here!"

"A house call may be in order, then."

"No! I don't want some hack cutting me up!"

"Then tell me, how will you get better? As it stands you caan barely even move your arms."

"Saiyans have an accelerated healing rate; it's not like I need one anyways."

"Accelerated or not, you still need to hea- _what,_ Helen?"

"_I'd like to apologize for my earlier action, if possible. Is he still in a foul mood?"_

_ "Yes, and it seems he will refuse a house call from the doctor, or any kind of treatment."_ The signing finished, Annie said, "Helen would like to extend her appologies."

"Helen can- dammit just take my tray and get out of here!" Vegeta yelled, fresh drops of red staining his bandages. Annie opened her mouth to speak, but nothing seemed enough to bring Vegeta to understanding, so she signed to Helen, _"He's re-opened his wounds screaming for us to leave. I think we should just leave him to himself for now."_ Picking up the tray, Annie left the room with Helen close behind. But on arriving in the kitchen Helen signed to Annie a question that unbeknownst to her would change her life forever.

_"Where have you left the bandages?"_

_ "In the top drawer of the bedside table... just be careful."_ Thinking of Vegeta's incredible strength and anger Helen retraced her steps to the guest room. His scent led her towards the bed and she took in his smell as she opened the drawer. The gauze felt light and airy on her fingers, and she felt his heat radiating towards her as she sat down at his side; a strange sensation.

Her fingertips touched down on his bandages like dew, and hesitated for a moment. "Sorry..." Vegeta looked at Helen, but said nothing. Cautiously she helped him up onto his elbows and began unwinding his wrap. His skin was smooth and hot, muscles well defined. She took the colth and wiped away the dampness she felt and picked up the gauze, winding it around his torso. Finding the pin she fixed everything in place, and dared to walk her hand up to his lips and throat.

Vegeta let them stay there for a moment. "What is it? Do you expect me to forgive you?"

Helen shook her head, and tried to speak. "Bandages?"

"You- you did the bandages fine... Helen."

"Thank you..." Silence filled the close distance between the two, and Vegeta quickly slapped away Helen's hand. Helen considered Vegeta's rage for a moment then nodded and left, wondering how Vegeta would handle staying there with them.


	2. Chapter 2

Vegeta opened his eyes, a dull leaden and burning feeling in his chest. _Damn you Ka- what? Agh... still here..._ Reliving the final moments of his battle with Goku, Vegeta more sensed than heard or saw Helen walk in with his tray. The young woman took slow and measured steps along the path she had memorized. She felt the edge of her shoe brush against the bed, but steadied herself before falling, and soon felt the bedsheets brushing her skirts. Not sure if she should stay Helen let Vegeta take the breakfast tray from her, and left.

Noticing the paper and pencil, Vegeta put them aside and focused on his oatmeal and biscuits. They were spread with the jelly again; a dark substance Vegeta had never had before but had to admit was fairly edible. He had never had milk either but couldn't decide it he liked it or not. The oatmeal was as bland as anyhing he'd ever eaten, but comforting in an oddly familiar way in that it reminded him of the mushy military rations on planet Vegeta.

The simple meal finished, he went to work on the short breathing patterns he'd been taught during ki control training. His muscles still felt weak but the breathing soothed them, the ki also energizing his heart and making him restless. He'd been in bed for early a week, and felt the need to move around. _I know I've gained strength... the only good thing to come from that fight with Kakkarot._ Vegeta had levitated to and from the bathroom but had moved little otherwise and had resolved to try walking when he remembered the pencil and paper. Scooping them up from his side, he looked at the paper and read the first line:

_"Why did you become a soldier?" What, does she expect me to write answers for each of these? And there's hmm... two pages? Whatever, I'll just answer a few. _So, Vegeta wrote his first answer. _I became a soldier when I made my first kill. I was born a warrior, I'm the Prince of All Saiyans!_

_ I don't even know what corner of the universe this is, so giving you the location of planet Vegeta would be pointless._

_ I've been to dozens of planets, so yes, I travel a lot. They were all boring and the inhabitants were morons. I have a feeling this place won't be much different._ Panning down through questions about his likes and dislikes, he found and odd question.

_"How are you so strong?" Well, this planet's gravity isn't as strong as planet Vegeta's so I'm stronger automatically, then there's the army training program, which has a seventeen percent pass rate. In addition my ki gives me unparelleled power._

Breezing through more "useless" questions about his likes and dislikes, he came to the last two questions:

_"What was it like being the prince?"_ Vegeta thought over it for a moment, before quickly writing, _I didn't have much chance to be prince. I was mostly just the figurehead of a slave planet controlled by Frieza, a reminder that even the elite could be forced into his service. But all that did was reinforce my pride; without the Saiyans Frieza's empire wouldn't be half the size that it is._

Then the last question smacked Vegeta across the face: _"Do you have a wife or lover?"_ The pencil hovered ovre the paper for a moment, before Vegeta snapped the pencil in frustration and balled up the paper and tossed it into the corner of the room. _Time to try walking._

~oOo~

With Vegeta slowly shuffling around the backyard, Annie took the opportunity to clean the guest room: change the sheets, dust things off, and sweep up. It wasn't that Vegeta was a slob, he simply hadn't cleaned, and didn't let her in the room. Not that she minded. At all. And as she finished up in the corner she found a crumpled up piece of paper. She knelt down and picked it up, unfolding it and reading the writing. _He didn't return it to Helen?_ Taking note of what he did and didn't answer, Annie briskly finished sweeping and walked off to find Helen.

She was in her room, at the typewriter as she worked on her book. Waiting for Helen to pause at a new paragraph, Annie tapped her on the shoulder and held out her hand. Helen took it and began to put together Annie's signs, things like _"-when I made my first kill,"_ and _"-figurehead of a slave planet."_, beginning to get a sense of Vegeta's bitterness.

_"I wanted to ask about his family,"_ Helen signed, _"But it seems that may have been unwise."_

_ "You should, eventually. I think it would help him."_

_ "And maybe he might ask questions about me tomorrow."_

_ "And maybe he might," Though I doubt he will._

~oOo~

Vegeta was in the back yard going over his breathing exercises again. His torso was still too injured to try much of the hand to hand combat forms, and it felt goof to drink in the fresh air as he attempted to clear his mind of Helen's question's. _"Do you have a wife, or lover?"_ Visualizing didn't help much, as the violent and sharp movements of the martial arts softened once the woman who asked the questions came to mind again and again, and then the sparring forms became something else entirely, and his breathing patterns sped up.

With an angry sigh Vegeta opened his eyes, and began working up his ki for a Galick Gun as he moved to the center of the yard. The attack burst up into the sky with a mighty roar, Vegeta's chest aching and his abdomen sore. _I hate this damn planet. I hate..._ Vegeta wanted to say he hated everything, but could not quite bring himself to do so. "I hate everything: this planet, this house, and those two women- especially Helen!" Slowly, Vegeta resumed the breathing patterns for a moment...

...Until he sensed a presence behind him in the house. He turned around to discover Helen at the window, facing out to the yard almost as if she was watching him. He stared at her and there was a breathtaking moment where it appeared her eyes were locked on to his, an odd power flowing between them. Then she "looked" away. With a "harrumph" he went into the house, slamming the back door shut. This earned him a sharp look from Annie when he passed her in the hall on the way to the guest room, where again he slammed the door on the way in.

Stretching out on top of the covers and folding his arms behind his head on the pillow, Vegeta thought through his situation. _Attack ball, gone; no blasted rejuvenation chamber, no comunnication with the Planet Trade Organization... but on the other hand that also means Frieza doesn't know where I am. And then this planet... do they even have __electricity__ yet? It seems so primitive, but they have running water and flush toilets-_ The train of thought spiraled down the drain as there was a knock on the door. After a moment it opened, with Helen slowly moing in. She was right in the center of Vegeta's angry mix of thoughts, and though he didn't particularly feel like seeing her right now he couldn't really yell at her to leave, so he remained silent as she made her way to his bed.

She sat down on the edge, and felt for his hip with the back of her hand. "...Bandage?"

_Hmm? That's right, I'm still wearing them. Hmph._ Having waited a few seconds, Helen felt for the bandages, and the safety pin holding them together. She felt it in the small of his back, and removed it; slowly but surely unwinding the gauze. Putting it aside, Helen's fingers gingerly moved over Vegeta's abdominal muscles, her palms feeling his warm skin, her thumb lingering in his bellybutton before her hands made another circuit of his torso. "What are you- doing?" Vegeta asked, though he didn't move to stop her.

"Healed," Helen Keller declared. Then she moved her hands up to his head, getting the shape of his sharp chin before her hands settled into her "listening" position. "Felt... in yard. Heat..."

_She sensed that? This woman can sense ki?_ "I- I haven't fully healed, there's some internal damage as well, I'll still need more rest before all that's recovered; and... alll this damn sitting around was just getting on my nerves." Vegeta continued rambling on, "So my ki returned while I was just being a vegetable- even stronger than before, of course- and I just had to _move_, so that's why I was in the back yard; I was just going to do my breathing exercises to even my ki circulation but that wasn't working out so I built it up and released it with my signature technique, the Galick Gun."

Seeing a questioning look forming on Helen's face, Vegeta began to explain whata he could of ki, while he was still in this strange talkative mood. "It's a power, a... force, that moves around inside like blood but not. If you train and gather it outside your body you can use it for a variety of things, such as attack or flight; everyone has it. Saiyans have a transformation available to them if they gather enough ki, called a Super Saiyan... but so far only two Saiyans have achieved that."

Helen briefly thought of the breath of life that God had breathed into the world, and wondered if His hand had been in these recent events, anad if He was known to the Saiyans. _Is this how they speak of the Holy Ghost?_ Confused, Helen opened her mouth and spoke, "Teach..."

But Vegeta's strange talkative mood was over. "Maybe later. Right now you can just leave." Helen swallowed and nodded, then gathered Vegeta's bandages and left.

~oOo~

It took a while for Helen to digest the information Vegeta had dispensed. There was certainly more to this "ki" he talked of. _I feel it as this heat he has, similar to how I occasionally feel a person approaching. Could I sense Annie, or John? Ah, and what would Annie say of it? ...if she knew. She is unwilling to talk to him, so this is information she wouldn't have anyways... but I must tell her something, or she'd likely forbid me from seeing him; and then she may as well throw him out because they wouldn't be talking to each other, and indeed she might throw him out anyways. Ah! Yes, I'll let her know he still needs rest. "Internal damage..."_

Annie watched Helen feel her way back to her room after the talk with Vegeta. The bandages were in her hand, and she still appeared calm despite the visit being perhaps a little longer than it might have needed to be. _Though I can't imagine what they'd be going on about. Vegeta's about as mean-tempered as anyone I've met._ The fact of them simply being a young man and woman had occurred to Annie, but she didn't want to consider that yet. It was too soon.

~oOo~

The following day Helen was simply typing, hoping to make progress on her book but her finger were feeling poetic at the moment. There was a long poem lurking in the back of her mind, lurking in the darkness and waiting to creep out. She continued on:

_A circle  
>A cycle<br>I blindly reach out to touch the wall,  
>Hands stretching through womb-like darkness.<br>Resistance  
>I am denied freedom<br>I smile;  
>Here is where I define the invisible<br>Where the intangible becomes real.  
>Magic?<br>Yes, I think that's the word._

The flow of words eased up, and came to a stop for a moment, then suddenly Helen felt she had taken the verse too far and then no more words were forthcoming. As always, the darkness was always there, but Helen's inspiration had moved away from it. It was something else now, coming through the darkness; it was light, it was heat. Helen tried to forge ahead with another sentence:

_So precious and sweet,_

_ It's no use. This, this- "key" it's as if a whole new sense has been given to me! I'll try to speak to Vegeta about it._ Rising from her desk she sighed then made up her mind and left the room, her old desire for learning renewed.

After knocking Helen waited a few moments, but unexpectedly Vegeta himself opened the door. "In?" She sensed him move aside, and then cautiously stepped in- then Vegeta closed the door behind her and leaned against it. He took in her long dark hair, artfully arranged in a simple fall of ringlets, her wide mouth and noticably protruding left eye. The eye both fascinated and repulsed Vegeta.

Vegeta's scent intoxicated and mystified Helen. It was sharp, and had an almost wild quality to it, like a monkey or a tiger in heat. That seemed an almost appropriate likening to Helen, as there was an exotic strength and danger about the man. _"Teach... ki."_ Helen then held her hand to her mouth in a rather distracting manner, which after a moment Vegeta realized meant she was asking to listen to his voice. He roughly grabbed her hand and put it to his throat, where she adjusted the position slightly as the Saiyan began to speak.

"Fine! I'll teach you how to control and direct your ki, but I want something out of it; I won't do it for free."

Inching in, Helen proposed, "Learn... sign?"

He almost reflexively spat out a no, but Vegeta stopped to consider the offer a moment. _It_ is_ getting to be a bother with her... hand on my throat like this. Not like there's anything better to do in this dump. Might as well._ "Fine. We'll do the lessons one after the other, get it all out of the way at once. There. Satisfied?"

"...No." Helen's hands moved up past Vegeta's lips to get a sense of the warrior's face: his sharp chin and nose, high cheekbones; a widow's peak leading to strangely stiff and spiky hair. Then Helen's breath caught in her throat as she suddenly felt Vegeta's own hands on her face, drawing it in towards his. Their lips met like two hands searching for each other in the dark, holding fast when they greeted each other. Helen quickly wrapped her arms around Vegeta's neck, her passion buoying her up so that she almost didn't notice him carrying her towards the bed, where he gently laid her down. For what seemed like an eternity but was really only a few relatively short moments the embrace continued, until Vegeta heard a loud crashing noise that startled him out of the kiss.

Helen shuddered, the burning heat of the connection still coursing through her. Confused, she felt Vegeta lifting her up and guiding her to the door, opening it for her and pushing her through. She felt a familiar pattern of footsteps coming down the hall, and prepared as she could for the questions that were sure to come.

Vegeta heaved a sigh, and flopped down on the bed. Annie finding them was the last thing he wanted, and he'd heard her stomping off from the argument with John. A full-blown crisis had been averted- for the moment.


	3. Chapter 3

"We've received several reports, sir." Wilkinson set the stack of papers he'd been carrying on the desk. "All of them describing some kind of explosion or earthquake."

Detective Castle snatched one up and leafed through it, confirming what Wilkinson had just told him. "So we've got unhappy union members making show. What of it? I thought this kind of thing usually went to the police."

"Well, Mister Castle, this was an isolated incident. No such accidents have been reported elsewhere in the city, and the police haven't been contacted."

Castle plucked another report at random from the pile, and read through the eye witness accounts: _"Jes' mindin' my own bisness gettin ready fa bed, when there was dis BOOM! an' a kind of rumble... Yeah it was close, jes' a cuppa blocks away, in the direction of that house where whatserface lives- no, I knows her name jes' gimme a hot minute... Aha, there we go- Helen Keller, dat deaf-blind girl. Naw, never met 'em..."_ The report dropped to the desk, and Castle quickly drew another from the pile and flipped to the eye witness account: _"-Very loud, it woke me up If I had to guess I would estimate it to be close, near that house where Helen Keller lives-"_ Comprehension dawning, Castle looked over the top of the report at Wilkinson.

"They're all from within a five block radius around the residence, Detective, and none of them saw what caused the event."

"Two things," Castle said, holding up the fingers as he stroked his chin and leaned back in his chair. "One: there's been an attempt on Miss Keller's life, in which case this definitely goes to the police; and two, there was some kind of failed weapon test, a part of some plot. I heard that teacher of hers married John Macy, and you know how those socialists are... I'll be-" Wilkinsin interrupted with a well-practiced cough.

"I was contacted twice, by the same neighbour." Wilkinson offerred the report he'd been witholding, opened to the eye witness accounts. _"The first time, I was pruning my gardenias- quite ordinary business. I waved to Misses Macy as she came out of her house, but she didn't notice. Oh, and then I saw what she had come out to inspect: a most curious notion, a shiny metallic globe resting in the center of that mysterious crater on her lawn, which I am certain it caused. Heavens! I sound mad, but I swear 'tis true- in any case the metal sphere did something to frighten her, for after walking around it she hurried off back into the house. Just as I was putting my pruning shears back into my bag of gardening tools, the metal sphere lifted off the ground in a burst of fire, and flew off into the sky before I could say 'what?'_

_ I keep my gardenias pruned very well, but I was pretending at it again this second time. I had seen nothing in the week between, but expected everything- so it was hardly a surprise when there was this odd burst of light from her back yard, and a loud yell..."_ Castle and Wilkinson shared a look over the report. "I'll investigate the Macy house, and you interview this lady, see if anything else has come up. Let's get on this today." Castle stood and nodded to Wilkinson, who led the way out of the office.

~oOo~

Confusion had kept things from being sorted out. Helen had followed Annie to her room and they had talked.

_"No, it's nothing serious, Helen. John... he's focused on writing to the point where he justs shuts me out."_

_ "Maybe..."_ Helen hesitated to form the handsigns for a moment. _"Maybe he needs room to breathe and work in silence; I- I think Vegeta is the same way."_ As Helen knew very well hands could not lie, and feared Annie's response to the slip-up.

_"I have no desire to be shut out of my own house, or by my husband. And what do you mean, 'Vegeta is the same way'?"_

_ "He... I tried to ask him how he felt, but he didn't say much- something about internal damage. I tried to talk with him after that, but he pushed me out of the room."_

Surprisingly, that little twist of the truth went over better than Helen hoped for. _Internal damage? What organ could it be? His armor vest was wrecked... "Some people don't like to rely on others,"_ Annie signed bitterly. _"They think it makes them look weak."_ Annie reached up and smoothed back a stray lock of Helen's hair, wondering how and if she would be needed.

~oOo~

Though he never would admit it, Vegeta needed Helen. He felt excluded when Helen and Annie conversed in hand signs. Well, no longer: after their breathing exercises they stood close, as Helen taught Vegeta the letters. Helen was surprised to see that he leaned them so fast, angrily throwing them down into her palms until he got them right. They even had conversations, but Vegeta would quickly tire of signing and their talks were short, almost like puzzles Helen tried to piece together so she could figure him out. _"Tongue on gums," "In through your nose," "Almost have it..."_ Helen then remembered Vegeta was telling her to watch her breathing patterns, and resumed them.

The Saiyan breathing exercises brought Helen a calm she'd rarely felt in the city, one that reminisced her of walks in the wood in her childhood. It became easier to sense Vegeta during them, his breath- ki- warming her, and Helen felt her own heat growing. And it had only taken a handful of days for her to reach this point. Vegeta himself seemed to be benefitting from them, slowly but surely moving around more and more each day. Today, he felt well enough to begin teaching her the basic martial arts forms, which Vegeta assured her would help with her ki placed his hands on her hips and positioned them in the correct place, then stood aside as Helen went through it.

A punch here, careful foot movement to the second position where there were a few more punches and a block; turn right, repeat. Helen slowly went through the form and ended with a hah!, palms thrusting forwards and trying to project her heat through them. Vegeta nearly jumped. He wasn't quite sure he'd seen what he did- a brief golden-white flare that quickly died out.

Meanwhile, Detective Castle was trimming hedges. Not really- he did give the occasional snip here and there but he was actually only peeking above the hedge to observe Helen and Vegeta. And until a moment ago nothing had appeared out of the ordinary, just two people doing a slow boxing sequence and talking with handsigns. Castle wondered what the strange light had been, but he ducked out of sight and made note of it. Then when he came back up, it happened again! The golden-white flash was more prolonged this time, forming a sort of globe shape that flew forwards a few yards before dissipating. _The man seemed to approve of that time. Is he capable of that as well?_ Scribbling down a few more thoughts on his notepad. Then this time when Castle made a few snips and looked up again, Helen and Vegeta were kissing! It was slow and intense, forcing Castle to look away and note the contact on his pad. _I think I've seen enough for now. Head back to the office and discuss this with Wilkinson._ Snipping off a last stray twig, Castle took one more glance above the hedge: Vegeta and Helen were still kissing, so he nodded and walked away, putting his clippers and notepad in the bag on the way to his bicycle.

Thoughts were organized on the way to the office, ideas balled up to bounce off Wilkinson. The city slid past in a blur. There were pedestrians who respectfully moved out of the way as he sped down the sidewalk, and others who had to be reminded with the bell. The cool Spring breeze wrapped around Castle as he turned the corner of an office building a few doors down from his. Gradually braking and coming to a stop outside the front door, Detective Castle tossed his "worker" cap into the basket on his bicycle and walked in.

He offered a couple nods on his way to the office at the back, and caught the eye of Wilkinson, motioning for him to follow.

"Back already?" Wilkinson asked, shutting the door behind him.

"There were some things that just couldn't wait for tomorrow," Castle explained as he opened his bag and took out his notepad. He dropped down into his chair and snatched a pencil from the holder. "Item number one: there's a strange man living with Keller."

"Well. I'm sure she's had a number of suitors but I can't imagine her in a relationship right now. Isn't she in college? It could be that he's only a butler."

"Would you kiss your butler full on the mouth?"

"What?"

"I've known for years, relax. So that brings up point number two: the relationship appears to be intimate."

"That could mean any number of things. A true relationship, maybe, but that's unlikely; more probable is that- ah, _favors_ are being exchanged to keep both sides quiet."

"Freud be damned, Wilkinson- I think you're on to something there! That man and the metal sphere, let's suppose they're connected: he's just been informed he's landed in a high-interest spot, and Keller's taken a shine to him. What does she do to keep him around? Give him a way to keep her mouth- or would that be hands?- occupied, if you will."

"And then you have the opposite side," Wilkinson picked up. "This man knows _exactly_ where he's come to, and is using that to get what he wants from Keller." Castle nodded as he scrawled notes in the margins on his pad. "So assuming the man really did fly here in a rocket ball to her house, that still leaves the flash of light with no possible leads."

"No... I got something for that too... Listen I'm not the type to buy into this, but before the kiss Keller and the man were doing these slow movements, and..."

"And...?"

"There were two flashes of light, both from Keller. I think they were connected to the movements, these slow boxing patterns-" Castle was abruptly interrupted by Wilkinson laughing, and after a moment chuckled along with him. "Like I said I'm not the first to believe these things, but I saw what I saw."

"Well then, what _were_ Keller's flashes of light like?"

"The first one was soft, almost like a candle. Flickered out pretty quick. The second was stronger, and like a beam; the first was more like a ball. And..." A detail briefly glimpsed suddenly came back to Castle. "The tree, her second flash stripped a patch of bark from a tree." Writing down the small fact, Castle looked up to Wilkinson for an opinion but found the man staring blankly at him. After a minute Castle put two and two together, and his jaw dropped open. There was dead silence in the office for a full two minutes before Detective Castle cleared his throat. "You know someone who knows him, right?" Wilkinson nodded. "Let him know we might have a job for him."

~oOo~

_"-And it suddenly seemed like your area of expertise would be needed. So yes, Harold, I am officially calling in my favor. I'm counting on you."_

Harold- better known as Harry- Dresden crumpled up the note, and with a word set it on fire. _Do a guy a small favor..._ A wasate of power, to be sure; but in his current re-incarnation there was a hard edge to his cynicism that refused to soften. _But promises and prophecy aren't so different, and this time I will exploit that and break the cycle._

Though he carried no previous memories besides those related to The Pact, Harry knew interfering in the affairs of those who wielded raw power came with an iron-clad guarantee of ending in disaster. And all signs were indicating that this was exactly what he was headed for.

~oOo~

That afternoon, Vegeta and John met formally for the first time. The talk was short, as John was a believer in work, and had noticed Vegeta was moving but doing none. Surprisingly, Annie saw Vegeta agree on the first task: doing what he could to fill in the hole in the front yard made by the attack ball's landing.

"Simple manual labor, but it will help me get my strength back." So the shovel was retrieved from the shed, and the Prince of All Saiyans got to work. _Not like I can get any lower... A slave for Frieza, now a slave on this primitive planet. It's always the worker who gets it worst, and my royalty means nothing here!_ Vegeta thought darkly, as he shoveled another load of dirt into the wheelbarrow. _Come to think of it, who rules this place? Maybe I could steal a page from Frieza's book and just use my power to begin an empire here. With their current level of technology that would be child's play. Take a local woman or two and start a dynasty._

_ "Do you have a wife, or lover?"_ Even after a fortnight the question still managed to get through his defenses, and leave him struggling with the answer. Which, Vegeta had to admit, was changing. He'd never really wanted it to before: if he'd wanted a woman before he would have just taken her, no questions asked, and he would never see her again. But he couldn't simply move on here, and it was doing things to him he had never imagined. The mighty Prince of All Saiyans, who lived for the fight, the thrill of the kill, was beginning to think about the _future_.

And just like that, the decision was made. Vegeta thought over how he would do it a few times, but he was not an elaborate man and put the thoughts aside for the moment. _I'll figure it out later,_ Vegeta thought, as he dumped the wheelbarrow's load into the crater. Then, somtehing caught his eye: and orange ball down in the middle of the crater. Hopping down, he picked it up and jumped back to the wheelbarrow, which he overturned and sat down on as he inspected the strange object. It was smooth, the orange color lightening towards the outside, and had seven dark red stars in the middle that stayed in the same position no matter what angle he viewed them from. _Hmph. Weighs enough for her to use as an exercise ball. I'll put in inside the door for later._

It was like a nightmare that kept getting worse. _This literally can't be happening,_ Thought Harry Dresden, double-checking the view through his binoculars. Sure enough, Vegeta was still in possession of the Dragon Ball, and was taking it into the house. _That has to be the only one he has. He would have seen it earlier if he had others. Or maybe he was just surprised to find it here... with technology like that metal sphere it could be he has a device that can find them... but I can't let even a whisper of this get out, can't ask around, because if the White Council finds out I know..._

In a moment Vegeta was back and shoveling dirt again. _Time to try a warning shot, see how he'll react._ Raising the rings on his right hand, Harry focused and let the magic come out in a burst of force. The shot almost immediately got Vegeta's attention, and the Saiyan deflected it with an annoyed grunt. _Damn._

~oOo~

_"You were attacked?"_

_ "They were just testing me. It wasn't much more than you could have done."_

_ I could...? "Were you hurt?"_

_ "Heh! No, I wasn't. That attack couldn't have hit me in my sleep."_

_ "Did you see him? It might be someone John knows."_

_ "He shot from cover, so no." Oh- "And I found something that you could use for exercise. It's a globe." Didn't I leave it on the bed? Ah, there it is._ Taking the orange ball, Vegeta handed it to Helen and folded his arms across his chest.

_This... it feels like a star; it has that same heat which Vegeta does... "Vegeta, I do not think this was ever meant for exercise... It has its own kind of ki."_

_ Its own kind of ki?_ Closing his eyes Vegeta tried to sense the Ball where Helen had put it on the bed, but couldn't. _"Helen, point to where the thing is." There, I moved it._ But amazingly Helen sat down on the bed and leaned over and picked it up. _What... what is it about her..._

_ "How strong are you Vegeta? Are... we in danger?"_

_ "No. We're safe."_ Feeling her own heat growing, Helen moved the warmth of the Dragon Ball to the floor and grasped Vegeta's hands...

~oOo~

It wasn't the first time. Annie loved John, but at the moment there was a wall between them she couldn't break through. Helen was usually her comfort on such nights: sometimes Annie would sit on the edge of Helen's bed in the dark, or watch her sleep at the doorway. Annie wasn't getting any younger, and she was worried her best chance at love was slipping away from her; whereas Helen was still young and had poetry and magic at her fingertips, had the whole world before her for the taking. Annie needed a little of that right now.

So, Helen's tutor made her way down the hall to her pupil's room. Her eyes had trouble adjusting to the darkness, but she knew the way well enough. _Perhaps I might wake her, and we could talk for a short while. Hmm?_ Pausing for a moment Annie stopped to listen at the guest room door. _I was sure I heard something from inside there._ Annie's hand hovered over the door knob a moment, then took hold of it, then slowly slipped off. _Suppose I'm only hearing things._ Continuing her walk to Helen's room Annie let her fingers trail along the wall, then fall down onto the door knob and twist it open. There was a dark mess of blankets in the middle of the bed where she assumed Helen slept. _Yes, I'll wake her._ Softly sitting down on the edge of the bed, Annie gently shook the shape's "shoulder", but something felt wrong. She pushed again, and the shape gave way. _These... these are only spare sheets!_ Knowing her basic arithmetic, Annie put two and two together and gasped as she figured out where Helen was.

~oOo~

It was the most terrifying and beautiful thing Helen Keller had experienced in all her adult life, and she owed it to Vegeta.

Helen had learned the breathing and ki exercises just as fast as Vegeta learned the handsigns. She began to teach him some of her and Annie's "shorthand", and Vegeta began working her ki exercises harder; from destroying blocks of firewood all the way up to rocks, and changing the trajectory of her ki blasts.

She was gaining more confidence with her body, as well. Helen could do Vegeta's martial arts forms faster, stronger, and her skin was becoming more sensitive also. She could sense minute distubances in the air when Vegeta moved near her, and he said she would be ready to start sparring in a week or so.

After the exercise session, the pair were discussing Helen having a signature ki attack. _"I feel more comfortable in close range."_

_ "Then go long range. Everyone would expect you to defend yourself close in."_

_ "So would it be a globe? Or a stream?"_

_ "A spherical attack would be more sudden, and a beam more focused."_

_ "I suppose the element of surprise wins the choice; a globe it is." And... "Vegeta, I would like to go flying with you again."_

_ "Fine. Tomorrow. And you need a name for your attack."_

_ "Shadow Flare," _Helen signed without hesitation. She could almost feel Vegeta nod his approval.

A few different emotions were conflicting in Vegeta at the moment. He could not help but feel proud at the progress Helen had made, and excited at the things it might meant. He also wondered what use he might be of to her now that she knew, whether she'd need him in the future. But in the present, he suddenly didn't want her near him. _"Go make me a sandwich, woman."_

_ "Well... we only have leftover venison and Heinz tomato sauce, but I'll see what I can do."_ There was a chance the venison had kept well in the ice box, and the Heinz had been bought the day before. On occasion Vegeta scoffed at the quality of the food, so Helen felt sure he would enjoy the sandwich despite its marginally unusual contents.

On the way to the ice box in the kitchen, Helen was interrupted in her quest for deer flesh. The hands grabbed her by the shoulders and spun her around. _"Did you sleep well last night, Helen?"_

_ These are Annie's hands. "I... I slept very well, thank you for asking."_

_ "Oh? Your pillow was lumpy; I just fluffed it for you."_

_ "That's, kind of you. I've been meaning to do it for days."_

_ "You must have been cold too, to have all those extra blankets,"_ Annie kept on, _"Even thought it's Springtime."_

Though of course she couldn't see, Helen was sure she was blushing. _"You don't know him, Annie. Stop it."_

_ "Helen, you're throwing away a future where you could uphold the rights of women and other deaf-blind people everywhere for some man with a coarse tongue who calls himself a prince!"_

_ "He may not be the most charming, but his tongue softens once you know him-"_

_ "I'm sure you know all about Vegeta's tongue, but you're already getting criticism for mimicking John's political views; your career couldn't survive a scandal of this sort!"_

_ "This isn't a scandal! You cannot call it that just because neither of us has seen fit to advertise our relationship. Vegeta has nowhere else to go, an as far as we know no friends anywhere nearby, no house, job, or money... and you and mother have denied every man I've considered courting."_

_ "Helen,"_ Annie huffed, _"You're blind."_

_ "And not once has Vegeta taken advantage of that. In fact, he's opened up a whole new world for me by-"_

_ "Just like you opened up for him, I'm sure!"_

_ There's so much anger in her hands, they're so tense. She's so set on bringing up last night, it's... wait, could she be...? Of course with her and John's arguments lately..._ Helen lifted her chin. _"I am a _woman_, and I have a sandwich to make. Excuse me."_ Helen then turned away from Annie and resumed her task of making Vegeta a snack. But it was with a sour mood, for trading barbs with her friend and mentor always weighed heavily on her.

~oOo~

Vegeta had noticed Annie's dark mood at supper the night before, not even bothering to serve anyone except herself, not saying a word the whole night. John didn't say much either, but did send a few meaningful glances in Helen's direction. Having been trained in elite mathematics, Vegeta put two and two together, and found John and Annie thought one plus one equaled three. "So that's it, _that_ is what this is about?" He yelled, staring at the Macy couple. "She's your wife, John- _fuck_ her!" Annie coughed, nearly choking on a bite of food, then threw her napkin on the table and stormed out of the dining room.

Helen had come in during the night, but only to say she would explain things tomorrow. Dawn had come a little too early, waking Vegeta from soft and luxurious dreams of Helen. He only caught a few glimpses of her during the morning before she left for her classes, and then it was back to filling in the crater his attack ball had made when it landed. The job was nearly done, so Vegeta took his time shoveling dirt into the wheelbarrow and dumping loads into the crater. Despite his easy pace the Saiyan broke a sweat once heat peaked after noon, and he paused to wipe his brow as he looked up towards the sun. _About three o'clock? Probably._ Glancing back down at the dirt he stuck the shovel in, Vegeta realized he was done filling up the crater. _Barely noticed. Wasn't that bad; almost got used to it. I could do more work like this if I- wait, what kind of way is that for a Saiyan prince to think?_ Deep down, though, Vegeta knew why those thoughts were circling around in his head. Helen. He would do the work for Helen.

After returning the shovel and wheelbarrow to the shed Vegeta came in the back door, made a stop in the guest room to pick up spare clothes John had loaned him, and arrived in the water closet. He took his time washing up, determinedly scrubbing every inch of skin, even the ones Helen had touched. The clothes felt a tad rough on Vegeta's freshly clean skin, but he ignored the feeling and went out to the back yard and leaned up against the house. Several minutes passed in uncharacteristically deep thought, and then finally he sensed her approaching. Helen slowly walked to his side, and grasped his hand.

_"Wanna fly now, or talk first?"_ Signed Vegeta.

_"Fly,"_ Helen replied. Using her ki, helen lifted off the ground a few inches then soared into the air. The feeling was every bit as exhilarating as the first try a few days prior. The rush of fear and wonder and pure energy was like nothing else, the feeling of the wind blowing through her hair simply incomparable. having ascended for several moments, Helen halted her climb, and felt for Vegeta's arm, Finding it, she drew him in and began to sign, _"I had an argument with Annie, the night before last..."_

_ "And?"_

_ "And she doesn't approve of us being together, just the same as she and my mother have never approved of me courting anyone. I fear she will try to force you away."_

_ Now, Vegeta. Now or never. "You could come with me; I go, you go too. We could fly to anywhere in the world, wherever you want."_ Vegeta waited for Helen to reply, but she didn't, so he carried on, _"I could conquer the world for you, and we would rule together. Our word would be law. We... we could start a dynasty that would last for a thousand years; our children would be given entire nations as playthings..._

_ When I was a soldier for Frieza, it used to be I could have my way with any female I wanted on the planets we pillaged," Not counting Dodoria- "But this time, I want to ask. I... Helen, will you be my wife?"_

The proposal had left Helen breathless, the joy and awe and fear and desire and triumph easing away her consciousness and lifting shadows off a dream once broken, sent Helen's hopes skyward as her body plummeted down to the earth.


	4. Chapter 4

It wasn't the first time. Helen had often dreamed of marrying during her teenage years, but had put those aspirations aside to focus on her education, But love had proven to be mulishly stubborn, follow Helen around and refuse to give in to reason and die. It had been patient, kind, never easily angered; yet still it forever endured, believing and hoping as many as six impossible things before Helen would even eat breakfast.

And then Helen found Vegeta. He was so different from everyone else, with his supernatural heat and strength, and aciform wit that stitched together the pieces of himself that he had shared. The rooyal misery and princely discontent were juxtaposed with warmth, longing, and nobility. _"Born to rule,"_ He'd said more than once. _"I could conquer the world for you," ...I don't think he should need to conquer the whole earth... Perhaps just a log cabin in the countryside would do, with a few acres of land; enough for a few horses and a small farm, at least._

_ ...Children. That is a possibility... and grandchildren, running about the family home. I've just baked custard pie, and they're all clamoring to have a taste of it. Hmm. I wonder if Vegeta... likes pie. Yes, he __will__. I suppose there are a number of other things he'll learn to love: this city, the bottom, Annie and mother- oh, Annie and mother... Well, _they_ are going to have to learn to love _him. Shaking her thoughts, clear, Helen sat back in the chair and massaged her temple for a moment before finding the typewriter again.

~oOo~

Knocking on the door had never given Vegeta pause before, but this was a situation that called for more tact than blasting a hole in the wall. _I would trade my tail for another way to do this... but how do you prepare for the impossible?_ Once, twice, thrice. It was done. Not much longer after the knock the door to the study opened, revealing a comfortable room lined with bookshelves and softly lit by a desk lamp. Behind the door: Annie. She eyed him suspiciously, and retreated to her arm chair- leaving Vegeta with nowhere to sit. Instead, Vegeta took up his signature stance with his arms folded across his chest as if he'd meant to do so all along.

"I... want to do this right.

"That's admirable, Vegeta." John said in a measured voice.

"What ever could you be planning?" Annie asked politely, not fooling anyone.

"It's difficult to explain, I- it's a kind of question."

"A rhetorical question? A carefully phrased rhetorical question can shift mountains," John offered,

"Well, I'm sure you'd love for me to just come out and ask, wouldn't you? It's more personal than a rhetorical question, but I think you already know that, don't you?"

"That very well may be," Answered John, clearing his throat and looking to Annie. Inexplicably appearing in his hand was a porcelain cup filled with green tea, and he took a sip.

"What exactly does your question involve? We can't advise you on anything if don't know what it is! A little something to work with, please."

Vegeta stared at Annie before answering her. "The..." Vegeta sighed angrily. "The question is for one person, but could end up involving several people, all of them for the rest of their lives."

John made as if to reply then stopped short and took another sip of tea. Annie was silent also, patiently observing John's tea cup. The pause gleefully leapt over the awkwardness threshold, and settled down near the fire to stretch out.

_Hello? An answer, dammit! I'm not going to stand here forever!_ But stand there he did, the silence breathing down his neck until he couldn't tolerate it any longer. "Alright! Enough already, this is making me sick. The question... what I wanted to know is how I should propose marriage to Helen."

The effect was immediate: John spat out his mouthful of tea- right in Annie's face as she leaned over to whisper to him- and the cup slipped from his hadn as the tried to stop the flow, spilling the remainder of the contents all over Annie and the papers on his desk, falling on his wife's hand. Trembling, the hand crawled over the empty cup, and closed on it.

"Tea cup," Annie growled. "I will kill you with this tea cup."

John stood up and moved around the desk to head Annie off. "Annie, don't overreact-"

"_Overreact?_ Don't you see what he's doing to her?"

"I'd rather not," Joh mumbled, before speaking up. "This is Helen's choice, not ours-"

"We _are_ Helen! You knew it when you married me, John Macy! You knew it! So the decision is not hers alone, it rests on all of us!"

"I think I know what both of your opinions are, so why don't I go get Helen and ask her, see what she thinks about this-"

"Vegeta-" Anne began.

"No! Shut up, woman, I'm tired of listening to you talk! Helen says this, Helen says that-"

"Vegeta-" Annie tried again.

"-But she isn't saying what you're saying she's saying! Helen is her own person with her own-" The Prince of All Saiyans was startled out of his monologue by a soft touch on his shoulder.

"Vegeta..." Slowly he turned aroun to face her, and she took his hands in hers to sign. _"I felt your ki rise. What is going on, has the man returned?"_

_ "He hasn't come back. Look, Helen..." Damn it, I'll do it right here. On one knee. "Helen, I was arguing with John and Annie; it was all over one question."_

_ "What was it?" What could have gotten them so riled up?_

_ "Helen," _Vegeta said as well as signed, getting down on one knee, "I would be honored if you would be my wife. Will you marry me?"

_Again? Wait, so... oh, he must have... what was he thinking; all I needed was a moment to collect my thoughts... "Vegeta stand up."_

_ Wha- "Why?"_

_ "I don't want my husband to look like he's begging for a kiss."_ Almost as if in slow motion Vegeta rose, and cradled Helen's cheeks in his hands and gravitated towards her soft, warm and full lips for a-

"NOOOOO!" Annie rushed over and pushed them apart, sending Helen back through the door. Vegeta took a step towards Helen, then he spun around in the doorway with a violence that was tangible, surveying Annie bitterly with hard, blazing eyes before banging the door so savagely the the whole room shuddered and whimpered before sinking into and unearthly silence.

It was like a nightmare that kept intensifying until even waking would not guarantee escape from the torment. Though Helen knew what direction she _wanted_ to move in she was being pulled in many directions; caught in the middle Helen realized she had a choice to make. All these people and emotions were tugging on her heart, and if she chose an emotion or person her heart would consequently be pulled to pieces. _This all is... beyond my wildest hopes and imaginations, like an old Grimm Brothers tale... so I will make the fairy tale choice: I choose my heart._

Helen turned and wrapped her arms around Vegeta, feeling his warmth. She saw that she had finally found her prince, and it only remained to be seen if she would get her happily ever after. _"Vegeta, let's fly away..."_

_ "Where?"_

_ "South, towards Jersey."_

_ "Jersey?"_

_ "It won't be far by flight, we could arrive by evening." _

_ "Then let's go now, and never look back."_ Helen stopped to breathe in Vegeta, then signed him her answer:

_"Let me pack a few things and then we'll leave."_ Giving Vegeta a quick kiss on the cheek, Helen then led the way to her room.

~oOo~

Harry had once lived in the first Jersey. A number of those who were bound by The Pact worked in and around the Western shore, supposedly to avoid The Pact but with so many of them there Harry knew better. His stay was short.

As far as he knew he was the only one bound moving around in New Jersey. He hadn't even let Detective Castle know he was leaving for Newark; almost as soon as he'd seen Vegeta with the Dragon Ball. Not because he was scaredL but because of the slim(but terrifying) chance Vegeta would try to collect Nimue's Dragon Ball. _He already has Medraut's..._ But even thinking the name pained Harry, and he returned to maintaining his veil.

Harry could not afford to let the disguise drop, as he was actually going to ask around. It had been years- at least a hundred- since he'd left the Ball in Newark, during which time de'd died and handful of wars had been fought; all of those things being his fault, one of which being a direct result of pursuing the Balls. Since only a select group even knew the Dragon Balls existed, suspicions and plans would zero in on Harry faster than a fly to manure.

In any case, Harry was in the mood for breaking with tradition. He walked into the back alley pub as if he'd done so a thousand times (which on days like today he wished was true), casually scanning the room for a specific look to a patron's eyes. _Curious and looking for a fight, vaguely interested, horny, curious, startled- ah, there we go._ Stopping momentarily to order an unforgettably generic beer at the bar, Harry made his way to the booth across the room where the initially frightened man sat.

"You come here often?" The man said in a thick Irish accent. He leaned in conspiratorially and added, "See, Art, we all laugh at him but he's still a good fella; and no one else would hide under a glamour here."

"Not pretending to be anything other than what I am, my friend."

The Irishman's face saddened. "Art, ye had four pints that night, no one blames ye for it."

"Yet here I am, wearing a glamour so as to not offend the kind souls in this establishment."

"How thoughtful," Art's aquaintance murmured.

Harry glanced around before leaning over to whisper, "Look, the true reason that I'm here is that I'm looking for a man..."

"Art, lad, we couldn'a known..."

"Different this time: this man is... looking for balls, of a sort. He's got very distinct black hair, sticking right up, and he's a little on the short side. Andthe balls are... a pleasant orange, fancy things that really do nothing at all."

"Are ye really fine, Art? You've never been the type to collect trinkets."

"This is just a phase I need to pass through. I'll be back to normal soon enough." _Art, I hope we never meet._

"Oh, a mid-life crisis, then? Me uncle had one; the constable found him with the goats." Art's drinking buddy shook his head. "So you and the pointy-haired man are rival collectors of these balls, I presume... Well, Art, if it'll help you get through this 'phase' of yours I'll keep a look out for him."

"Much obliged," Harry said, taking a sip of his beer. "I'll stop by here every now and again to chat with you if I haven't run into him first." Taking a few more gulps of beer, Harry began to speak when Art's friend spoke first.

"Will ye be wearin' that glamour? I can't imagine anyone here being sober enough to remember your face clearly."

"We all have our own goats..." Harry replied, and then chugged his beer. "Be seein' ya." With a nod to the Irishman, Harry stood up and left the bar as quickly as he could. _Smooth as always, Dresden. Like butter on a bald monkey._

~oOo~

Helen led the flight South, guided by that strange sense of hers Vegeta still could not understand. She called them "stars"; that peculiar orange ball was one, and on the way to New Jersey the sense had sharpened and other stars were unveiled in Helen's night sky- and there just so happened to be one in Newark. With plenty of daylight to spare Vegeta guided them down to a park as close to the Ball as he could manage without crashing through the roof of the building. It had high stained glass windows and a needle-like structure on the roof over the front doors. _"We're right outside."_

_ "Then let's enter,"_ Signed Helen, briefly shivering with anticipation. Trying the door, Vegeta found it to be locked- and then without further ado kicked open the doors. There were many rows of full seats, and up at the front of the hall there was a woman in an elaborate white dress and a man in a sharp black suit, and behind them was a man in gold trimmed robes. The congregation stood silent in shock at the sudden entrance, watching the wedding crashers stroll up the aisle; and then the other frying pan hit: the woman of the duo was Helen Keller! They got all the way to the foot of the altar before even the minister of the church said something.

"Have you come to object?" The man nervously asked.

"Object to wha-" _Oh. Of course. So this is what marriages look like on this planet._ "We're just here to get something, we don't object to what's going on." Vegeta walked around the minister, then Helen stretched out her hand, pointing at the altar. After a quick push Vegeta found the altar could move, despite it seemingly being an extension of the wall. There was a decent handhold on the edge, so Vegeta secured his grip and moved the altar away from the wall as the minister let out a cry and moved to keep a large book from falling off it. _There! In that chest!_ Vegeta had just carried the old chest back around in front of the altar, when a man in a black longcoat with a black staff walked in.

"Actually, I object. That man is clearly a thief stealing a treasure of the church. And may I add, sir, your wife looks gorgeous." Harry said, readying a shield charm.

"_Really?_" Vegeta said, smashing open the chest with his bare hand and thus bypassing the magical barrier. He picked up the Dragon Ball and displayed it to the wedding. "I haven't seen one of these sitting out anywhere else in this place."

"There are treasures unique to some places, things like a saint's relics or maybe even the Shroud of Turin." Even as he said it Harry knew the congregation wasn't buying it. _Of course they've never seen it before. I made sure to leave it in the last place anyone who knows of the Balls would look._ Harry sighed. "You're going to have to get through me if you want to leave with the Dragon Ball."

_So that's what these things are called. "Helen, I have the star. Get ready to leave."_ Gathering a globe of ki in his free hand, Vegeta slung it forwards and it burst into a beam. Harry barely got his shields up and they shattered as he was knocked back into the street. Vegeta took Helen's hand and signed to her as they walked down the aisle. _"The man who attacked me before is trying to stop us from leaving." But I have no intentions of losing to a low-level clown again._ Undaunted, Helen and Vegeta strode forwards and stepped into the light.

Harry peeked out from behind the random nondescript building. Now that the ball was in his court, so to speak, that the cat was out of the bag, there were two ways he could return it: with black magic, or with fire. _My career and possibly life are over, so I might as well go out in a literal blaze of glory._ The black staff was raised, the words of the spell on his lips as he focused on Vegeta; but before he could speak them another blast of violet and white energy forced him away from the wall. The _firaga_ blasted off and swirled towards Vegeta in a colummn of flame.

Though a squirrel and nearby greenery had been blackened, Vegeta was nowhere in sight. Until, that is, something slammed into him and pinned him to the wall. "I have destroyed entire civilizations singlehandedly. Annihilating you would be less than nothing."

"Oh, no! I'm literally horny with fear." And with a short word, Harry blew Vegeta several yards away with pure force.

A bystander spoke, the elderly man looking from Vegeta to Harry. "What devilry is this?"

"Devilry?" Harry repeated, with a wry expression. "This is Newark." Harry took a deep breath and cast _firaga_ again, but a golden-white sphere of energy suddenly flew in, blowing some of the _firaga_ back at him before exploding, mixing in with the spell and blasting a fiery hole in the building he had been standing next to.

_Helen?_ Vegeta surveyed the burning wreckage in the aftermath of Helen's Shadow Flare. _She..._ At her feet was the suitcase containing the Dragon Balls, and she stood breathing heavily with her palms still extended. He walked over to her and took the fierce young woman's hand. _"He's finished. You did it, Helen."_ She stood silent for a moment, then pointed up to the heavens. Vegeta nodded and picked up the suitcase, and they flew up into the sky.

~oOo~

Heinrich Kemmler did not consider himself an evil man. He had the same goals and fears as many- if indeed, not all- men, the same determination to thrive. But to him had been given greater power, and a knowledge few others bore.

The sentence was crossed off the list. Two of them had been uncovered, and were now in the possession of the strange man and... _Helen Keller. Quite the unforseen turn of events, yet still things will play out for the greater good. To have __him__ surface again is an option I cannot overlook. It's far easier to keep a low profile with him around; always has been. Perhaps he will even accept the offer, this time._ Deliberating for but a moment, Kemmler turned to his servant girl. "Have the locations been changed?"

A thoughtful look came over the servant's queenly mien as she went through her magically vast archives of knowledge. "...If they have, the locations have not been written down, master."

"Then proceed as if they were in their last known resting places. The offer is to be delivered with the exact same words as last time, and should he accept have him meet me here."

"Yes, master." With no further words, Kemmler's servant bowed before him and turned aroud and walked into a portal that had suddenly opened.

~oOo~

_I wish I could have said no. But how do you prepare for the impossible?_ Even worse, the offer had made a twisted kind of sense: a mysterious man who was supposedly knowledgeable in magic had extended his greetings, and offered to lend his dark arts to "protecting the rest". A malevolent, perfect nightmare; the White Council's Blackstaff(the world's sole legal black magician) teaming up with a rogue wizard who somehow knew of the Dragon Balls.

Not to mention the man's servant. Harry had been surprised to see her, the adolescent's cerulean eyes connecting with memories buried deep inside. Her slim frame and quietly determined bearing completed the picture, the young woman's lineage now evident to him. She hadn't spoken a word since making her master's offer, which honestly didn't surprise Harry. In any case, by way of her mysterious portal the trip back to Germany was short, and they came out of the portal in a tastefully furnished study. There was a chair facing away behind a desk, and smoke rose up in rings above it.

As the chair turned to face them, the servant girl spoke, "Mister Dresden, meet my master: Heinrich Kemmler." The name was the first shock: Kemmler was known far and wide as the most dangerous black wizard _ever_; the tired and humble face not matching up with the legendary terrors its owner was known for. The fact that he recognized Kemmler's servant alone was neaarly enough to dissuade Harry from taking the deal, and now Harry was downright unnerved, having met her master. His fast escape from the scene in Newark meant almost nothing now; a Blackstaff in council with Kemmler was a gray area that could not afford to be brought to light.

The eyes were the second and biggest shock. Though the face they were deeply set in was unfamiliar, no one who saw those gray eyes- bound by The Pact or not- ever forgot their eldritch depths. They had seen far and far too much, and it showed with every gaze. They had been the eyes of generals, thieves, and once an insecure drag queen and prostitute; but those eyes were the ones of the man who _wrote_ The Pact, a man Harry had done all he could to avoid since his first death. The body may have changed, but the eyes never did, not since they had belonged to a man once known as Merlin.

~oOo~

Helen had never been to England- or anywhere outside of America, for that matter. In their quest for the Dragon Balls Vegeta was always in a rush to and from their next location, and it was only after collecting the three and five star Balls that she had even gotten him to slow down and take the time to describe where they were. _"Cave,"_ and _"Desert,"_ he had briefly signed of their first two stops after Newark.

The third stop had been the most interesting for Helen. _"Island"_ had been the first word after their long flight, followed by _"mountains"_ and then _"forest"_. Vegeta then led her up a long flight of steps- one hundred and eight, Helen had counted- to a clearing, when Helen stopped to rest. _"There's a red wooden gate with animal statues on the sides, and it looks like more steps behind it."_

_ "What type of animal are the statues? The craftsmanship?"_

_ "Looks like some mix of dog and lion. Fairly well done, I guess. They're pretty detailed, and the stone looks smooth."_ The stone had indeed been smooth to the touch, and cool. The forms of the statues suggested strength and also elegance to Helen, and she admired the intricate chisel work. Rested, they flew over the steps the short distance to the Dragon Ball, which was in a building Vegeta described as in the style of the gate. To help, he drew it in the dirt with her finger, guiding her hand in simple and graceful lines. And with the two star now in the suitcase the two had flown back along the way they'd come to the two balls in Europe.

They had to stop overnight a third of the way along. An elderly farming couple had understood their need despite not speaking a word of English, providing a blanket and a space in the hay loft in the barn. Breakfast had been slightly awkward but simple and delicious, with fresh milk and hot cereal made from a grain Vegeta didn't recognize. Soon after, with smiles and waves to make up for the language barrier, they flew off full speed.

Thus, they came to arrive in England in the late afternoon. _"Plains; boring."_

_ "Surely there has to be more around than simply plains, Vegeta."_

_ "Well, there are some large rocks in a circle around us, some are standing up, or resting on top of each other. But really, it's just plains for miles around."_

The Western breeze ruffled Helen's hair and skirt, and stirred up her imagination. She imagined being surrounded by tall stones, giants looking down on her, some fragile and impermanent thing. _I"m standing right over it... "Vegeta, I'm going to blast away the dirt above it."_ He nodded and moved aside, and with a loud cry and flash of golden-white light Helen had blown away the turf and topsoil, revealing the Dragon Ball. Vegeta saw the faint glimmer of some yellow metal beneath the Ball, but he ignored that and scooped up what they had come for. In a moment Vegeta stowed it in the suitcase with the others.

"One more," Helen managed to say, smiling. _"But first, food a lady does need to eat."_

~oOo~

It had been a simple meal of bread, cheese, and cider, traded for Helen's last change of clothes. Not particularly tasty, but filling enough.

Right away, Helen wanted to get back on the hunt, and they flew off to the East full speed. Helen felt on the edge of glory, and could not wait to leap over the precipice. So, in the evening light they came to a clearing up in the mountains, a small place out of the wind only ten paces across. But as Helen took a step towards the last Dragon Ball a portal opened and Harry Dresden stepped out of it and in front of Helen.

"Well, well, well, you managed to find Bielefeld, I'm impressed. But this is the _absolute farthest_ either of you will ever get to the Dragon Ball."

_It's hard to tell with the burns, but the voice... it's definitely him again._ "Okay, _what_ is the big deal with the Dragon Balls? Just what the Hell do they do, exactly?" Asked Vegeta.

"I'll tell you if you hand over the other six."

"Fine." To harry's amazement, Vegeta actually tossed the suitcase with the Balls i it at his feet. Quickly he knelt down to open it and verify the trade. _Yes, the other six._ This didn't make Harry any less cautious though. _He's got to have an ace up his sleeve if he just hands over six Dragon Balls._

"Don't think you'll get away with pulling a fast one on me. The kid gloves have officially come off: you try any funny business and I'll skip right past fire and go straight to death curses. Understood?"

Vegeta shrugged. "Sure."

"The Dragon Balls were created over a thousand years ago, as a way to promote balance and peace among the nations. Of course, that's not how it worked out; as wars have been fought over and kingdoms built on the possession of the Balls.

Individually, the Balls are worth approximately a third of their weight in feces. But if brought together, however, their value goes up astronomically, as they can be used to summon and Outsider known as Porunga."

"Porunga? I think that's the name of a porn I saw on Zarkon Five," Vegeta scoffed. "And why is this 'Porunga', so valuable, anyways?"

"Because if Porunga's name is called three times, he will be summoned... and can grant up to three wishes." Harry waited for Vegeta to finish signing to Helen, and then continued, "And now that you know why the Balls are so precious, you have exactly one minute to leave."

"Or what?"

"Or you'll take an Avada Kedavra, that's wha-"

The ace, ironically, _was_ speed. Vegeta doubled Haarry over with a punch before the latter could react, then threw him high in the air and erased Harry Dresden from existence with a Galick Gun.

_"He's gone for good now,"_ Signed Vegeta.

_"Then let's do it! Right now, Vegeta."_ He looked around for a moment to see if Harry had dropped it, but then Vegeta saw Harry had been standing in front of a small cave in the mountainside, from which a rabbit promptly ran out.

_It must be in there._ He would have to crawl on all fours, but he would fit in. The Prince of All Saiyans did just that, and after going in a few feet he found he could stand. There was light coming in from the outside, splashing against the back wall and illuminating the last Dragon Ball. Vegeta calmly walked over and picked it up, then rolled it ahead of him as he crawled back out. Helen had already opened the suitcase and placed the Balls in a circle. There was space for one more, and Vegeta placed the one star Ball in the gap. _"It's in the circle, Helen."_

There was a moment where Helen paused. _Is and "Outsider" some type of demon that we'll be summoning? Would He forgive me for witchcraft like this?_ The adrenaline and doubt made Helen tremble as she signed to Vegeta, _"Do it." Forgive me, Lord..._

Somewhat skeptically, Vegeta shouted, "Porunga, Porunga, Porunga!" _...He was just fooling with us, nothing's- _But then the sky darkened as if the sun had already set, and the Dragon Balls glowed with an mystic light, just prior to a light erupting from the like a mammoth geyser slowly fading andtaking form as it stretched up and up into the sky, eventually taking the form of a glowing long-bodied wyrm with green scales and tan belly.

"I am Porunga, and I shall grant you any three wishes." It spoke with a voice of leaden thunder. "Your first wish?"

Helen quickly signed the only things she could think of at the moment to Vegeta. "I wish for a white wedding dress and two golden wedding rings to wear!"

"The rings I can do with one wish, but not the rings and the dress. Do you want to use two wishes?"

"Yes!" _No! I meant no, actually! Wait-_

"They are now in the suitcase," Porunga said. "Your final wish?"

_NO!_ Vegeta began to feel a hint of panic. _"Helen, we have one wish left!"_

_ "Just- whatever you want. I have no ideas!"_

Now Vegeta was faced with a decision: use the wish to return home, or not? Old life, or new life? _Choose, Vegeta, Make your choice, dammit!_

"You must make your choice within the next several moments," Porunga prompted.

After what seemed like an eternity but was really just a few seconds later Vegeta made his choice. _If she gave the last wish to me, I'll use it for her!_ "I wish Helen was completely healed, so she can see and hear!"

"I can only do this with her consent." Hurriedly Vegeta signed this to Helen.

_He gave me a whole new sense before... this is the least I can do for him!_ "Now!" She said to Porunga, flinging her arms wide open.

"It is done." And with that, Porunga glowed brighter and disperse, and the Dragon Balls began to rise into the air, spinning around in a circle at high speed. Far overhead they flashed and with a mighty crack! they sped off to the ends of the Earth.

Helen was blinking. So much light and detail was almost too much to take in, the colors excruciatingly beautiful. _Is this Heaven?_ Tears welled up in Helen's eyes before they could be blinked away, and spilled down her cheeks.

And then she saw Vegeta.


	5. Chapter 5

_"I once was lost, but now am found_

_Was blind, but now I see~"_

Someone with a Southern accent exclaimed "Amen!", and there was an appropriate amount of laughter and applause in response. The pastor smiled as he nodded to the back of the sanctuary, and the doors opened. In came Helen Keller and her father, two young flower girls sprinkling the aisle ahead with white rose petals, jumping and twirling about with and overflow of youthful glee. Though Helen's father walked with a cane, he kept his head high and proud. He only allowed himself a small smile once he gave Helen away at the altar.

The pastor cleared his throat, then spoke. "Brothers and sister in Christ, we are gathere here today in holy matrimony to witness the union of Helen Keller and Vegeta; a union which does show how wherever there might be loneliness, God gives love as He gave His Only-Begotten Son to us; that where there would be darkness He illuminates by the Grace of His Holy Ghost, and that where there would be hope beyond our grasp _God Himself_ proclaims the victory already won!

There are trial that eveery marriage faces, and though by The Lord's miraculous Hand these two have overcome challenges already, there are trials yet to come that must be faced; and it is through faith in The Lord and trust in each other these struggles must be met with and overcome.

Let us pray: Heavenly Father, Who in the beginning didst institute the Sacrament of Marriage, bless with happiness this union, and grant that amid all the changes and chances of mortal life they may may so live together in Thy love and fear, that in the end they may meet in Thy eternal home. Through Jesus Christ our Lord, amen." The pastor gestured to the audience. "The couple will now make their vows."

Vegeta swallowed, and looked at Helen for a moment: her full skirt, snow white and swathed in a layer of breathy lace, and set with small pearls, a simple belt high on her waist; long white sleeves covered in more lace that dripped down to the floor. Vegeta's black tuxedo almost seemed like a rag in comparison. "Uh, Helen, from this day forward I vow to not raise my hand where a word would do, to extend my hand to your aid whenever you should need it, and yet also to go warlike in love and fight for your honor against those who would tarnish it."

_"I love you,"_ Helen mouthed. "Vegeta, from this day onward I vow to look after you and come to your side whenever the need arises, to be a companion and love worth fighting for."

The pastor looked from Helen to Vegeta before saying to him quietly, "Do you, Vegeta, take this woman Helen Keller to be your lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold, to cherish in sickness and in health, for richer or for poorer, for better or worse for all your days?"

"I do."

The pastor repeated the traditional question for Helen, who barely waited for him to finish before saying, "I do!"

The pastor smiled, his crow's feet showing. "If there are any who would not that these two should be joined in holy matrimony, speak now or forever hold your peace." The room fell silent, and Annie pointedly staring down at her hands folded on her lap, while several people had their hands ready to applaud. "Then what The Lord has joined together let no man tear asunder. By the power vested in me by God and the state of New York, I now pronounce you husband and wife! You may now kiss the bride."

Vegeta lifted Helen's veil and let it fall back over her hair, and gave her a short kiss lacking in any passion- for they both knew there would be plenty of that later.

**EPILOGUE**

The possessiveness of Vegeta's voice was deep and strong, its triumphant throb cutting throught the layers of sexual delight as thoroughly as a knife through warm butter; and it hit Helen like a deluge of cold water.

They both relaxed onto the downy bed, sated for the moment. Helen glanced to the side at the painting by that Austrian boy(_Adolf? Yes..._) that Vegeta despised- even to telling the young boy to give up on painting and join the military- eyes briefly sweeping over the simple textures. They now toured Austria and visited the mountains near Bielefeld every year on their anniversary. But it was another soul-crushingly long Wednesday, and only one thiry-five in the afternoon.

"Vegeta," Helen asked playfully. "What are we even going to do tonight?"

Vegeta noted the twinkle in his wife's eyes, and replied, "The same thing we try to do every night, Helen..."

**THE END**


End file.
